VIENNA, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A Belarus government official told the International Atomic Energy Agency Thursday of at least 20 sites where radioactive materials are buried.
Speaking at the IAEA's general conference in Vienna, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Sychev made the disclosure, and said at least two of the sites appear to pose a radiation threat, the Interfax news agency reported.
Sychev said "funds are being sought to continue investigations and for the development of a prototype project for removing these sources from unsanctioned storage," and that the country was counting on IAEA help.
"Today it is obvious that reaching safety when using nuclear fuel and radioactive waste is only possible with the participation of all countries in the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management," he said.
There was no indication of when the dump sites were created, or by whom.
